i think ive got eveything i need...

**fretboard65** · 02-23-2005, 01:47 AM

ok here it is-

i wanna get a carputer going. ive got a 7" lilliput touch screen, a p3 600mhz dell gx1 system with a 60gb hd, 512mb ram,
and an old isa soundblaster awe64 gold with rca outs. ive got a 15' vga extension cable, and a 15' stereo rca cable.
i also have keyboard and mouse extensions- but i hope i can get by wth just the touch screen.

ultimately, i want the system to serve as a media player- mostly music. in the future i may use it to replace my head
unit- maybe ill install an fm tuner, tv card, wifi card, gps system, etc. for now- its very bare bones- no cd or dvd rom,
no floppy drive. in fact- the pic doesnt even show the sound card installed.

i removed the original pc case becasue it weighed an unnecessary 50 lbs and was pretty huge- a waste of space. i guess
ill make a light wooden case for it? i already have a base- all the components are tied down with zip ties (mans best freind).

im not all that electronically savvy, but im not afraid to take stuff apart and start zappin away with my soldering gun.
i saw the diy for the lilliput auto power on, i may try that sometime soon.

id rather not spend a lot of money on this project unless it would really be necessary. i know about the opus.. but i
dont know if its strong enough for my pc, and i dont know if i really wanna shell out all that $$.

im using win xp, its all ive ever known. if its easy enough, i may try to learn how to use linux, i see its very popular
among carputer users. i figured i would just make a web page with all my big buttons and either dump it on to active
desktop or have windows load it on startup. i noticed looking at the finished products- that a lot of users have very
similar screen backgrounds- with the manufacturers logo somewhere on the screen, then several buttons around it-
is there a standard template out there?

i guess i need to know the most about power. i didnt forsee all the problems i would run into until i ran across this site
today. now i see i will have some real fun wiring this up to my ignition and getting the power to the pc smoothly.
right now ive got a 325 watt dc->ac inverter with *smooth start technology (oooh). im most concerned about having
the screen and computer start when i turn the key- and not suck my battery or harm any electrical components within
the car or carputer system. then i have to worry about powering down.. it would suck to have to shut down
manually every time i shut off my car. oh yeah- i should mention that i only have the ac plug for the lilliput

need to know what gage wire to run past my car's fire wall, and how exactly to tap into the ignition relay business.
is it unhealthy for a pc to be in a car? subject to all those extreme temperatures of frigid winters and
scorching summers? how about the issue of vibrations and the bumps of daily driving? wont that take a toll on the
pc? and especially the sensative hd? should i create some sort of shock abosorbing suspension for the pc-
or is that unnecessary?

btw, this is going into a 2001 honda civic coupe.

thanks for all your input

ps- my lilliput is being recognized as a default monitor- i can only set it to 800x600 resolution. id like to see how
it would look in its native resolution. is there a display driver i can get out there?

**fretboard65** · 02-23-2005, 04:24 PM

bump

come on guys, what the secret to getting some replies up?

is the huge block of text intimidating!?

**edrex** · 02-23-2005, 04:41 PM

I can't speak for everyone, but I know that I have ADD when it comes to reading other peoples posts. Its great to give the details that you did, and it sounds like you have a nice system going. Maybe next time, make the actual questions that you need answered in bold, in have then stand out in some other way. That way people like me can just skip straight to the questions.
Sorry I can't answer the questions you posted, but I hope this helps in the future to get more replies.

**IntellaWorks** · 02-23-2005, 04:53 PM

well as far as the "buttons" you see on finished installs it's an application. We nicked named the applications "Front-ends" or the end that you see...

There are a good amount of free front ends out there that you can download. Including (Frodoplayer,Centrafuse and Road Runner) these applications allow you to play dvd's mp3's and surf the web in your car.

**fretboard65** · 02-23-2005, 05:26 PM

i figured out the "shock" question about the HD today by searching

**scothern** · 02-24-2005, 12:00 PM

What was the answer? I wondered that myself.

**fretboard65** · 02-24-2005, 11:22 PM

i guess the hd wont go bad unless you hit a frame-splitting bump.

if you mount the drive sideways, you can avoid having the read head "crash" into the the plates in there.

a laptop drive is ideal for carputer because it is designed for more rugged use.

**tom2112** · 02-25-2005, 11:10 AM

One bit of advice:
Spend the money on the Opus 150watt. It's worth every penny. It will solve so many problems for you that you didn't even know you had yet. It's less than $200, and you can easily spend more than that screwing around trying to solve the power issues with a PC in a car.

**Confused** · 02-25-2005, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by tom2112

One bit of advice:
Spend the money on the Opus 150watt. It's worth every penny. It will solve so many problems for you that you didn't even know you had yet. It's less than $200, and you can easily spend more than that screwing around trying to solve the power issues with a PC in a car.

Exactly

Other than that, it all looks good

Garry